Cargo ships, then and now

On an early afternoon last month, the Eugen Maersk (the world's longest ocean freighter at 1,300 feet) has left
Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on the tail end of a journey from Shanghai.
But the giant freighter is cruising at 10 knots, well shy of her
26-knot top speed. At about half speed, fuel consumption drops to 100-150 tons of fuel
a day from 350 tons, saving as much as $5,000 an hour.

The German Preussen (picture above), the largest sailing ship ever built, was launched in
1902 and travelled mainly between Hamburg
(Germany) and Iquique (Chile). It was rammed by a large steam vessel
in
1910. A one way trip between Germany and Chile took the cargo vessel between 58 and 79
days. The best average speed over a one way trip was 13.7 knots. The lowest average speed was 10 knots.

Diesel burning engines do not employ catalytic converters, they employ scrubbers in their exhaust stack configurations to reduce pollution, however this process is expensive so they don't use them, nor do they utilize cleaner fuels,,,, seems they really don't care about the environment, that is except the one immediately surrounding their pocket books, as is evidenced by the quote that they are saving fuel by slowing down. Hello!!! We don't care, clean up the air. Produce near home or do without. Somebody, please..... somebody, please bomb us back to the , well almost stone age.....

There is a definite point to be made in favor of sailships being used to transport cargo like tea, coffee, cocoa and other beverages these days. Other processed foods could also be shipped on sailships - the China Clippers touched speeds as high as 16 knots in the 1860s and the rationale that guided their existence back then, that of shipping valuable, light cargo fast to its destination, still exists. I am not an expert on trading in carbon credits etc but I do think that the already low cost of using sail to transport cargo as compared to using oil could get pushed down even more if sailship owners are allowed to sell carbon credits.

As someone who was born in an old sea-port that saw ships trade from the Roman era in India, I have long wished to see sailships brought back. With modern materials and with the current concerns that the world has over the environment, this is a good time for a potential entrepreneur to look at reviving a new era of sailships. European wine-makers slready ship their wines on sailships in Europe. Now someone just needs to become aggressive and look at shipping cargo across the oceans.

The distance between Rotterdam and Shanghai is 9,600 nautical miles (=17,280 km).

If the ship cruises at 26 knots (47.7 kmh) it needs 15 days x 350 tons of fuel = 5,283 tons in total.

If the ship cruises at 10 knots (18.3 kmh) it needs 39 days x 100 tons of fuel = 3,900 tons in total.

That is a savings of 1,383 tons of fuel. With a cost of $300 to $500 per ton of marine bunker fuel, that is a savings of $ 414,900 to $ 691,500.

If fuel consumption at lower speed is 150 tons instead of 100 tons per day, you have a point (then fuel consumption is even higher: 5,900 tons).

The main reason for the lower speed is probably not (or not only) the cost of fuel, but a lower demand for the goods being transported.

Anyway the WSJ-article I quoted is incorrect, since they state a fuel savings of $5,000 per hour, without mentioning that the trip takes more days if you lower the speed. And $ 5,000 an hour seems wildly exaggerated, if compared to the calculation above.

The size of the ship goes by the volume but the size of the sail only by the area, for example if we double the ship Preussen on all the sides we have 8 times the weight but only 4 times the sail area, so the pushing power per ton of ship is reduced to half so it will go slower.

I see a future for sailing technology, but not in the traditional way. Economies of scale simply teach us it is cheaper to transport with big ships. It also uses a lot less construction material per ton of capacity to build large ships.

We shouldn't be looking at traditional masts with sails: they are impractical.

Instead we should drop the masts and just use the sails and ropes without them: We build giant kites.

Kites can be a much higher altitutes than masts allow the sails to be. This means more and more steady wind speeds and thus more power.

I own a 133’ ship that would make a great sailing ship. You can see my ship in Shutter Island, just came out on DVD. If you know someone that would pay for the conversion I would love to convert it as an example of what could be done. You could carry cargo to the Carbine for charity! souleido@aol.com

There is a lot more to calculating a sail's area to speed ratio then doubling sail = double force.

response to Mansor (#11) below.
"if we double the ship Preussen on all the sides we have 8 times the weight but only 4 times the sail area, so the pushing power per ton of ship is reduced to half so it will go slower."

The hull speed design is a big factor. also Talk to a sailor.

Load in Pounds = Sail Area * (Wind Speed )2 * 0.00431

also The force of the wind increases by the square of the velocity, which means that at 14 knots, the wind force on your rigging and sails is double the load on the boat at 10 knots.
To get more force for a larger boat you need increased sail area, you are still limited by the hull speed design, unless your going to plane on the water. Unlikely for a cargo carrier.

The primary constraint is labor, a sailing ship of that size requires a very large crew, while the diesel vessel needs very few and most of those can be lower skilled than on the sailing vessel. England didn't use press gangs to get Navy sailors just because they wanted to, it was because of the difficulty of persuading experienced sailors do enlist.

Better do some research. Start with Alan Villiers' "The Way of a Ship". With 7 seasoned sailors and a crew of 12-14 boys. Most cargo carriers sailed with a crew of 18-24 on a two-watch rotation. Olny school ships have an abundance of 'warm bodies' to drive the ship. Good captains,firm but fair, didn't need to 'shanghai' crews. Read up on some history-anmourn the loss of men and the knowledge they deveoped over years of experience. Also keep in mind that we did it once and we can do it again if we want to bad enough. My worry is the bureaucracy in ports who add so many costs to the shipping process that it kills profits for the owners/captains/crew.

Sail Ships (Sailing Vessels)are still existing in India and they carry all types of General Cargo, Chemicals, Live Stock etc from Tuticorin to Colombo (Srilanka),Maldives,Lakshadweep Islands (India),West Coast of India, Andaman & Nicobar Islands (India) etc. A 500 ton sailing vessel is manned by 12 crew and they are run both on sails as well auxiliary engine propulsion.The sailing vessels consumes less diesel and mostly run on sails and it is economical and one of the cheapest mode of transportation in India.If any one need more details regarding the present sailing vessel industry in India please contact me at ujamackenna [at] gmail.com

Very true, the very large crew of a military naval vessel was mainly for the manning of the large number of weapons. Commercial sailing vessels could be operated by very small crews. Some famous clipper ships continued operating into the 20th century, with masts cut down and less sail, carrying goods such as lumber, with crews of 10-15, and half of those apparently shanghaied onto the ship drunk from a bar by the mate..! With modern sail designs and automated handling, the number of crew members is also very low, you don't have guys scrambling up the masts to reef or unfurl sail, or pulling ropes/cables by hand, etc. With auxiliary engines you remove the problem of handling in port, channels, storms, calm, etc. The technology exists, the problem now is the glut of cheap (and dirty) fuel, so to be realistic, nothing will change until this era ends.

The Chinese Wheelbarrow

How to downsize a transport network: the Chinese wheelbarrowFor being such a seemingly ordinary vehicle, the wheelbarrow has a surprisingly exciting history. This is especially true in the East, where it became a universal means of transportation for both passengers and goods, even over long distances.

Human Powered Cranes

Wood Gas Vehicles

Firewood in the Fuel Tank: Wood Gas VehiclesWood gas cars are a not-so-elegant but surprisingly efficient and ecological alternative to their petrol (gasoline) cousins, whilst their range is comparable to that of electric cars.

Open Modular Hardware

How to make everything ourselves: open modular hardwareConsumer products based on an open modular system can foster rapid innovation, without the drawback of wasting energy and materials. The parts of an obsolete generation of products can be used to design the next generation, or something completely different.

Power from the Tap

Power from the Tap: Water MotorsJust before the arrival of electricity at the end of the 19th century, miniature water turbines were connected to the tap and could power any machine that is now driven by electricity.